NASA's Hubble telescope may search for an object beyond Pluto for the NASA New Horizons mission to visit after its 2015 flyby.
The search will look in a small region of the sky in hopes of finding a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) to visit, a NASA news release reported. The Kuiper Belt is a region full of icy debris left over from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago; it has never been explored by a spacecraft before.
The recommendations for the Hubble's role in the mission were made by the Hubble Space Telescope Time Allocation Committee.
"I am pleased that our science peer-review process arrived at a consensus as to how to effectively use Hubble's unique capabilities to support the science goals of the New Horizons mission," Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) said in the news release.
The telescope will scan the sky in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius to identify an object orbiting within the Kuiper Belt.
If the test observation finds at least two KBOs of a certain brightness it will demonstrate the likelihood that Hubble will be able to find a target object. If this occurs an additional allotment of observation time will be given to the project.
Competition for observation time on the Hubble Space Telescope is tight, and there is only so much available every year. Proposals are peer review annually by an expert committee.
"The planned search for a suitable target for New Horizons further demonstrates how Hubble is effectively being used to support humankind's initial reconnaissance of the solar system," Mountain said. "Likewise, it is also a preview of how the powerful capabilities of the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will further bolster planetary science. We are excited by the potential of both observatories for ongoing solar system exploration and discovery."
